The former X Factor judge, who tried to kill herself over her cocaine arrest, said her life had gone off the rails ever since a tape of her having sex was leaked online.

She had barely come to terms with that crushing betrayal when a drug sting left her a “paranoid wreck” a year later.

Tulisa, whose trial collapsed last week, was asked when she last felt content in an interview on ITV’s This Morning.

She replied: “Really happy? I’d say two years ago, before the tape came out.”

The 26-year-old was devastated in 2012 when ex-boyfriend Justin Edwards, 30, released footage of her performing a sex act on him. She was plunged into despair a second time when she faced charges of “fixing” a drug deal after a sting by the Fake Sheikh, under- cover reporter Mahzer Mahmood, 51.

The N-Dubz singer said: “I literally felt like I was drowning the whole year and just keeping my head above water.

“I had my really low points where I hit rock bottom, but I just had to pick myself up and move on.

“There were points where, looking back now, the way I feel now is nothing like how I felt then.

“I actually started to feel stronger towards the end.”

But since being cleared of cocaine charges, Tulisa insisted she is on the road to recovery and desperate to relaunch her music career.

She said her ordeal had made her a “stronger and better” person and would add to her skill as an artist.

Sources close to her said she also still hopes to make it as an actress, despite having been tricked with the promise of a Hollywood film deal in the sting.

Meanwhile, her confessions won little sympathy on Twitter, where trolls slated her for moaning.